Electric locomotive.



F. B. HOWELL.-

ELECTRIU LOGOMOTIVE. Y

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15, 1910.

2 SHEBTSSKEET L.

I Inventor-z F'red B.-Howe| I 2L4, rlisa ttornes.

Patented Jan. 16, 1912.

F. B. HOWELL.

ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVE.

APPL-IOATION FILED SEPT. 15, 1910.

Patented Jan. 16, 1912.

- 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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Fig.2.

Witnesses:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. FRED B. ROWELL, F SCHENECTADY, NEW Y ORK,ASSIO-NOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC LOCOIVEO TIVE.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be; 1t known that -I, Fnnn B. HowELL, a

citizen of the United States, residing at t-ion.

Thisinvention relates to the propulsion of vehicles by electricity, andits object is to provide a geared electriclocomotive in which theweight-is reduced withoutany sacrifice vof power and in which thepressure on the gear teeth and the heating of the motors are kept within.sa felimits. The entire machine is c'ompact and simple in construction,and

the transmission ofpower to the driving wheels isby means of cranks andslde rods.

Theinvention will be. better understood from the following detaileddescription taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich,-, 1 i

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved locomotive, slightly brokenaway to show the gear teeth; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical-section onthe line 22, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow, and Fig. 3is a similar section on the line 33, Fig. 1, looking in the samedirection.

The driving wheels 1 are secured upon axles 2, which are journaled inthe boxes 3 held in the pedestals 4 of the frame 5, in the usual manner.:Midwaybetween the driving wheels a jack-shaft (3 is journaled injournal boxes 7 preferably held between jaws, 8 similar to those of thedriving axle pedestals. The-jack-shaft,-'like the driving axles, has novertical play between'its jaws, its journal boxes being secured rigidlyto the frame. This construction, however, enables the j a ck-shaft to bedropped out of the frame vin a mannersimilar to that employed forremoving the driving axles when repairs are needed.

On each-end of the jack-shaft is a gear 'wheel 9 arrz'rnged preferablyin the plane of the dr ving wheels. Both gears are of the same size, andeach is provided with a crankpin 10. The pin 10 at one end of the shaftis set quartering with respect to the pin at the other end. Each pin isconnected by side rods 11 with suitable crank-pins l2 on the drivingwheels on that side of the 1 00mm tive. The pins on each pair of wheelsare set quartering like those on the jack-shaft.

Specification of Letters Patent;v

said shaft and the driving axles' Eachpair of side rods is united by 'aknue kle joint13. i

Resting on. the side frames at eachend andpreferably just overth'e'driving axles, is a cross bar 14, and on these cross bars aresupported the field, frames 15 of the twoelectric motors. Said frameshave abutting face plates 16 whi ch meet on a' transverse,

upright plane, as shown in Fig. 1, and are bolted together. The framesarepreferably Patented Jan. 16, 1912'.-

Application filed September 15, 1910. Serial No. 582,171. 7 I

strengthened by ribs 17. Bolted to each side of the upper part of saidframes is a depend ing bracket lS which extends outward be yond theplane of the drivingwheel s, and is provided witlrtwo'journal bearings19. The armature shafts 20 of the motors are journaled in said bearings,said shafts run ning transverse of the'locomoti've and parallelwitheaclrother and with the jack-shaft.

The ar1'naturesofthe two motors are mount ed, respectively, onthese twoshafts 20., The

commutators 21 of said motors are shown in the drawings, butv the brushholders, con

ductors and all control apparatus are fomit-, ted forthe sakeofsimplicity- On each end of each motor shaft, i

plane of each gear'wheel 9 and inside 0 the journal bearing 19, is apinion. E22, meshing with said gear. All of the pinions are, 'of thesame size. The gear. and pinions on each side of the locomotive areprotected'by a gear cover of which the upper part23 is removably securedtothe bracket 18.

By using two motors instead of one, greater power is secured for thesame weight of material. The distribution of the power between twomotors and the consequent application of it to the gear wheels at twopoints teeth of the gears and pinions so that they are much less liableto break and will not wear so rapidly. Moreover, the duplication ofthe'gears and pinions on both sides of the locomotive still furtherreduces. the trans- 110' The lower half 24'of the cover for the gearwheel instead of one, dividesthe pressure on the verse stress orpressure sustained by the teeth of said gears and pinions, because ofthe distribution of the power transmit-ted. By providing a gear wheel oneach end of the jackshaft and put-tinga driving pinion on each end 'ofeach armature shaft, meshing with a gear wheel, the torsional strains onthe armature shafts andack-shafts are distributed evenly, without dangerof distorting the machine. The reduction in size of the motors, due tousingtwo instead of one, enables a quicker dissipation of the heat loss,and greater efiiciency because the motors run cooler. The single gearreduction accords with the most approved practice in railway motordesign, while the side-rod transmission is a simple and standard formand one most familiar to railway employees. By unfastening the fieldframes 15 and bracket 18 from the cross bars 14 and taking out the bolts25, the motors and their pinions with the upper halves of the gearcovers can be hoisted out of the locomotive without disturbing thedriving and running gear.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of'the UnitedStates, is,- 1. An electric locomotive comprising a frame, drivingWheels and axles, a trans-- verse jack-shaft between said axles, a gearwheel on each end of said jack-shaft, crankpins on said wheelsand-gears, side rods connecting said crank-pins, two electric motorssupported above said jack shaft and between it and said driving axles,said motors having armature shafts extending across said locomotive, anda pinion on each end of each armature shaft, the pinions on each side ofthe locomotive both meshing with the gear wheel on that side.

2. An electric locomotive comprising a frame, driving wheels and axles,a jackshaft journaled transversely in said frame, gear wheels on saidjack-shaft, side rods connectingsaid gears and driving wheels, and twomotors provided with pinions to mesh with said gears and having fieldframes resting on said frame and removable vertically therefrom withoutdisturbing the driving-and running gear. I

- 3. An electric locomotive comprising a frame, driving wheels and axlesat the ends thereof, a transverse jack-shaft ournaled at the middlethereof, a gear at each end of said shaft, side rods connecting saidgears and wheels, two motors located above and on either side of saidshaft and between it and the driving axles, pinions on the motor shaftsmeshing with said gears, and a gear cover for each set of gear andpinions, the upper half of each cover being secured to the motor frameand the lower half to the locomotive frame.

4. An electric locomotive comprising a frame supported on drivingwheels, a motor field frame supported on the locomotive frame, bracketson each side of said field frame, and journal bearings in said bracketsfor the armature shaft of said motor.

5. An electric locomotive comprising a frame supported on drivingwheels, a motor field frame supported on said locomotive frame, bracketssecured to theupper partof said field frame on each side thereof, andextending laterally and downward therefrom, and journal hearings in saidbrackets for the armature shaft of said motor.

6. An electric locomotive comprising a frame supported on drivingwheel's, two motor field frames each supported at one end on thelocomotive frame and having abutting face plates secured together,brackets depending from each side of the upper part of said united fieldframes and provided with journal bearings, and two armatures havingtheir shafts mounted in said bearmgs.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto 'set my hand this 14th day'ofSeptember, 1910.

. FRED B. HOWELL. Witnesses:

HELEN Onrono, THOMAS W. NOONAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner'of Patents,

. Washington, G.-

